Impact Fund Project Update

Warmer weather is here and Impact Fund projects are in full swing. School communities have teamed up with artists in Gwynns Falls Elementary, Vivien T. Thomas High School, Western High School, Morrell Park Elementary Middle School, and Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School to create some incredible works while building sustainable relationships with their communities and local artists.

Gwynns Falls Elementary School: Mosaic Pathways

Gwynn Falls Elementary third graders and Deaf and Hard of Hearing students began working with mosaic artist Carien Quiroga from Artivate to create mosaic stones to place in the schools garden to make it more inviting for students and the local community.

We are hoping that this project brings a sense of a student-run and student created environment. We also want our garden to be a space for reflection and mindfulness.- Emeralde Manko, Teacher

The students got to work together to think about what designs they wanted for the garden. Quiroga has visited the school to collaborate with student and school staff on ideas and layout for the stones. A garden celebration will be held on May 31st, see flyer for more details.

Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy: “Arts” In Medical Arts Mural

Vivien T. Thomas High School students from grades 10-12 Drawing and Painting classes have come together with artist Megan Lewis to design a mural for the exterior of the the school that reflects Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy’s mission and vision of shaping tomorrow’s healthcare professionals across various fields.

The students are LOVING it! They feel so empowered to be painting on their school before they graduate in a few weeks! The teachers love the message and how it shows all of the medical pathways for our class, and our principal is very impressed and proud! Things are going great! Megan is wonderful to work with! –Jenna Gray, Teacher

The painted mural brings the school and neighborhood communities together to create a sense of ownership and pride while adding a memorable work of art to be enjoyed by everyone around it. The unveiling of the mural will be held June 1st. Stay tuned for more details!

Western High School: The Dove Project

Western High School has brought student, local, and alumnae communities together to design a beautiful mosaic work portraying doves flying across the facade of the school building. Together with artist Toby Rivkin, students worked to create mosaic doves with the help of alumnae who participated in their annual Unity Day. With materials gathered from the local community, current and past students worked side-by-side to design doves with the training from Toby Rivkin.

The first step was creating dove shape templates and cutting out 40 doves from the ceramic sheetrock material. That first stage was completed before Spring Break. Then we met with Toby Rivkin and she taught us how to teach how to mosaic the doves. We worked with groups of students and Alumnae to finish this step. – Jennifer Becker, Teacher

Releasing doves during their commencement ceremony symbolizes the young ladies’ “launch into the world to become effective, strong female leaders”. The mosaic on the exterior of the building will also provide a source of pride and inspiration for students in the future.

Morrell Park Elementary School: Outdoor Learning Space Mural

Morrell Park Elementary Middle School plans to begin work on their mural this summer which is part of an ongoing beautification effort to better their school’s and surrounding environment by creating an outdoor learning space that can be enjoyed by the local communities as be utilized as an outdoor classroom space

Implementing the project will connect youth to community and provide opportunities for older residents and youth to work together on a shared goal. This project will also affect the aesthetics of the school contributing to a sense of hope in the neighborhood.

Keep on the lookout for more information about this project and how the school will work with Access Art, a local after school arts program.

Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School: Inclusion Mosaic

Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School has begun some preliminary planning for their project with mosaic artist Sue Stockman who will begin mosaic workshops in early June and completed in December. Be sure to look out for updates on their project in the coming months!